Most drummers have a single main ride, located near their right hand—within easy playing reach, as it is used very regularly—most often a 20" sizing but, 16"-24" diameters are not uncommon. It is most often a heavy, or medium-weighted cymbal that cuts through other instrumental sounds, but some drummers use a swish cymbal, sizzle cymbal or other exotic or lighter metal ride, as the main or only ride in their kit, particularly for jazz, gospel or ballad/folk sounds. In the 1960s Ringo Starr used a sizzle cymbal as a second ride, particularly during guitar solos.

If you’re trying to decide whether to get a digital piano or a keyboard, you should consider what you’re hoping to accomplish. As has been said, digital pianos are a great option for anyone who is just starting to learn to play the piano or for those who play a traditional piano but would like another option that is more convenient. If, on the other hand, you’re looking to play the keyboard and take full advantage of all of the various options that they have, then a digital piano would likely not be as useful for you.

Looking for complete drum sets for the drummer in your life? You’ll feel like a king when you sit at the throne of a new five-piece drum set from one of the industry’s most popular brands, such as Pearl, Tama, Mapex, and more. We even offer all the extra bells and whistles so you can start rocking away. Find all the drum accessories you need, from double bass pedals, cymbals, and triangles, to replacement drum heads, drum stools, and stands. When you need more cow bell, or your intense, gut-busting, around-the-world drum fills break the heads off of your sticks, be sure to stock up on replacement sticks and other drum accessories.
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It's a fact that standard drum sets and cymbals are only scratching the surface of what percussion can do. In this section, it's easy to see just how deep your potential is as a drummer with plenty of the usual suspects as well as a ton of more exotic instruments and accessories. If you're ready to bring the rhythms and beats to the stage, you've got thousands of ways right here to make it happen.
Several factors determine the sound a drum produces, including the type, shape and construction of the drum shell, the type of drum heads it has, and the tension of these drumheads. Different drum sounds have different uses in music. Take, for example, the modern Tom-tom drum. A jazz drummer may want drums that are high pitched, resonant and quiet whereas a rock drummer may prefer drums that are loud, dry and low-pitched. Since these drummers want different sounds, their drums are constructed and tuned differently.
When a floor tom is added to make a four-piece kit, the floor tom is usually 14" for jazz, and 16" otherwise. This configuration is usually common in jazz, classic rock and rock and roll. Notable users include Ringo Starr in The Beatles, Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and John Barbata in the Turtles. For jazz, which normally emphasizes the use of ride cymbal, the lack of second hanging tom in a four-piece kit allows the cymbal to be positioned closer to the drummer, making them easier to be struck.

One of the main things to consider when looking at a 4-string bass (and every bass for that matter) is the material used to make its body. Bass guitars are traditionally made of different varieties of wood and feature a solid, hard-bodied design. Alder is a favorite amongst musicians because it produces a clear, full-bodied sound. For warmer, smoother tones, a mahogany bass might be the one for you. Another aspect to look into is a fretted or fretless electric bass guitar. On a fretted bass, the frets divide the fingerboard into semi tone divisions. These models make learning the bass easier because you have a guide for finger placement. Fretless basses offer a different sound because without frets the strings are directly pressed into the wood of the neck. This produces a softer sound because the string is in direct contact with the musician's finger and also allows you to slide up and down the neck with ease. The electric bass guitar is said to be the cornerstone of the band. It establishes the beat and brings a booming, punchy sound to the music. From Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Paul McCartney of the Beatles, musicians have been playing the bass for decades in modern, mainstream music groups. No matter what skill level you're at right now, these is certainly an electric bass guitar that will meet and exceed all your sound and style needs.

In most genres, a "clean" bass tone (without any amplifier-induced "overdrive" or "distortion") is desirable, and so while guitarists often prefer the more desirable distorted tones of tube-transistor amplifiers, bassists commonly use solid-state amplifier circuitry to achieve the necessary high output wattages with less weight than tubes (though smaller tubes can often still be found in the low-power "preamplifier" sections of the system, where they provide a warmer, smoother character to the bass tone for relatively little additional weight). A few all-tube bass amplifiers are still available, notably from the Ampeg brand.

Many drummers extend their kits from this basic configuration, adding more drums, more cymbals, and many other instruments including pitched percussion. In some styles of music, particular extensions are normal. For example, rock and heavy metal drummers make use of double bass drums, which can be achieved with either a second bass drum or a remote double foot pedal.[7] Some progressive drummers may include orchestral percussion such as gongs and tubular bells in their rig. Some performers, such as some rockabilly drummers, play small kits that omit elements from the basic setup. Some drum kit players may have other roles in the band, such as providing backup vocals, or less commonly, lead vocals.

When a floor tom is added to make a four-piece kit, the floor tom is usually 14" for jazz, and 16" otherwise. This configuration is usually common in jazz, classic rock and rock and roll. Notable users include Ringo Starr in The Beatles, Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and John Barbata in the Turtles. For jazz, which normally emphasizes the use of ride cymbal, the lack of second hanging tom in a four-piece kit allows the cymbal to be positioned closer to the drummer, making them easier to be struck.
Keyboards, on the other hand, were designed to produce a much wider range of sounds than traditional pianos. Though they are sometimes good options for beginners, the range of available features on a keyboard make them more appropriate for intermediate to advanced musicians who are interested and capable of developing their own sound. It’s uncommon for such musicians to use a keyboard to create the same sounds that a traditional piano would make. Keyboards are usually much lighter than digital pianos, and they often do not have weighted keys. In short, keyboards are designed to be used by musicians and producers with more experience. Keyboards are often much lighter than digital pianos and have tones which number in the hundreds and sometimes thousands. They include a lot of technical options to allow the player to fully customize their sound.
The "Fender Bass" was a revolutionary new instrument for gigging musicians. In comparison with the large, heavy upright bass, which had been the main bass instrument in popular music, folk and country music from the early 1900s to the 1940s, the Fender bass could be easily transported to shows. The bass guitar was also less prone to unwanted feedback sounds when amplified, than acoustic bass instruments.[11] In 1953 Monk Montgomery became the first bass player to tour with the Fender bass guitar, in Lionel Hampton's postwar big band.[12] Montgomery was also possibly the first to record with the bass guitar, on 2 July 1953 with The Art Farmer Septet.[13] Roy Johnson (with Lionel Hampton), and Shifty Henry (with Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five), were other early Fender bass pioneers.[10] Bill Black, playing with Elvis Presley, switched from upright bass to the Fender Precision Bass around 1957.[14] The bass guitar was intended to appeal to guitarists as well as upright bass players, and many early pioneers of the instrument, such as Carol Kaye and Joe Osborn, were originally guitarists.[15]
Drum kit music is either written down in music notation (called "drum parts"), learned and played "by ear", improvised or some combination of some or all three of these methods. Professional session musician drummers and Big Band jazz drummers are often required to read drum parts. Drum parts are most commonly written on a standard five-line staff. In 2016, a special percussion clef is used, while previously the bass clef was used. However, even if the bass or no clef is used, each line and space is assigned an instrument of the kit, rather than to a pitch. In jazz, traditional music, folk music, rock music and pop music, drummers are expected to be able to learn songs by ear (from a recording or from another musician who is playing or singing the song) and improvise. The degree of improvisation differs in different styles. Jazz and jazz fusion drummers may have lengthy improvised solos in every song. In rock music and blues, there are also drum solos in some songs, although they tend to be shorter than those in jazz. Drummers in all popular music and traditional music styles are expected to be able to improvise accompaniment parts to songs, once they are told the genre or style (e.g., shuffle, ballad, slow blues, etc.).
If you really want to distinguish yourself as a bassist, it can pay to think outside the box and go for something a bit less traditional. For example, there are musical styles and occasions where an electric bass may be slightly out of place. In those cases, you can turn to an acoustic-electric bass. These have a classic sound all their own, and if you're headed to a festival or singing around a campfire, they'll do the job even without an amplifier handy.
These are a sub-type of traditional digital pianos that offers a more classical design which closely resemble an acoustic upright piano. Upright digital pianos are mainly intended for home use, and is usually more expensive than the other types. Some models, especially the higher-end ones, often feature an actual wooden keys as opposed to regular plastic keybed.
If you’re looking for something that better mimics an acoustic piano and can serve as the focal point of a room, check out our digital console piano recommendations, which are better at emulating the action and sound of a traditional piano than the keyboards in this guide. However, they are also much heavier and cost three to four times more than our most expensive pick here.
The purpose that why you need to get a guitar should be one of the key things to consider. Taking a simple scenario, the bass guitar needed by a beginner but not the choice that an expert will go for. It is important to know why you really need it, if you just want to get one for fun, you should go for the basic guitar. On the other hand, if you want more than just basic use and you need a better and more punchy bass, then you can spend more on your guitar.
A fill is a departure from the repetitive rhythm pattern in a song. A drum fill is used to "fill in" the space between the end of one verse and the beginning of another verse or chorus. Fills vary from a simple few strokes on a tom or snare, to a distinctive rhythm played on the hi-hat, to sequences several bars long that are short virtuosic drum solos. As well as adding interest and variation to the music, fills serve an important function in preparing and indicating significant changes of sections in songs and linking sections. A vocal cue is a short drum fill that introduces a vocal entry. A fill ending with a cymbal crash on beat one is often used to lead into a chorus or verse.
The smallest and largest drums without snares, octobans and gong drums respectively, are sometimes considered toms. The naming of common configurations (four-piece, five-piece, etc.) is largely a reflection of the number of toms, as only the drums are conventionally counted, and these configurations all contain one snare and one or more bass drums, (though not regularly any standardized use of 2 bass/kick drums) the balance usually being in toms.
Keyboards, on the other hand, were designed to produce a much wider range of sounds than traditional pianos. Though they are sometimes good options for beginners, the range of available features on a keyboard make them more appropriate for intermediate to advanced musicians who are interested and capable of developing their own sound. It’s uncommon for such musicians to use a keyboard to create the same sounds that a traditional piano would make. Keyboards are usually much lighter than digital pianos, and they often do not have weighted keys. In short, keyboards are designed to be used by musicians and producers with more experience. Keyboards are often much lighter than digital pianos and have tones which number in the hundreds and sometimes thousands. They include a lot of technical options to allow the player to fully customize their sound.
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At Sam Ash, we offer digital pianos for any type of budget. Premium models will offer features like weighted keys, LCD menus for simplified setup, and more after effects such as reverb. With weighted keys, the lower keys feel heavier and the higher keys feel lighter, just like you would find on acoustic models. Higher-end digital pianos will even offer keys made out of wood for a real premium response. Another specification to consider when it comes to choosing your piano is how many notes of polyphony is offered. Polyphony signifies the maximum number of notes that an instrument can produce at one time. If you are interested in layering notes, complex chords, and playing over accompaniment tracks, you should consider a model with higher polyphony. The amount of voices or different types of sounds and the quality of those sounds are also critical features that differentiate digital pianos. These days, most digital pianos offer more than just a traditional grand piano tone. Less expensive models will include four to five presets including strings, harpsichord, and drums. The top-of-the-line digital piano models can offer hundreds of different sounds spanning any genre of music you can think of. Other advanced features on today's best digital pianos include built-in recorders, compatibility with iOS apps for playing along with your favorite songs, and effects that simulate settings like lid positioning and performance venue. Be sure to check out our extensive Digital Piano Buyers Guide and our Digital Pianos: Everything You Need to Know article for further guidance on selecting the perfect digital piano for you.
The drum head has the most effect on how a drum sounds. Each type of drum head serves its own musical purpose and has its own unique sound. Double-ply drumheads dampen high frequency harmonics because they are heavier and they are suited to heavy playing.[3] Drum heads with a white, textured coating on them muffle the overtones of the drum head slightly, producing a less diverse pitch. Drum heads with central silver or black dots tend to muffle the overtones even more. And drum heads with perimeter sound rings mostly eliminate overtones (Howie 2005). Some jazz drummers avoid using thick drum heads, preferring single ply drum heads or drum heads with no muffling. Rock drummers often prefer the thicker or coated drum heads.
In some styles or settings, such as country music clubs or churches, small venues, or when a live recording is being made, the drummer may use a transparent perspex or plexiglas drum screen (also known as a drum shield) to dampen the onstage volume of the drums. A screen that completely surrounds the drum kit is known as a drum booth. In live sound applications, drum shields are used so that the audio engineer can have more control over the volume of drums that the audience hears through the PA system mix or to reduce the overall volume of the drums, as a way to reduce the overall volume of the band in the venue. In some recording studios, foam and fabric baffles are used in addition to or in place of clear panels. The drawback with foam/cloth baffle panels is that the drummer cannot see other performers, the record producer or the audio engineer well.

In traditional music such as country music, folk rock, and related styles, the bass often plays the roots and fifth (typically the fifth below the root) of each chord in alternation. In these styles, bassists often use scalar "walkups" or "walkdowns" when there is a chord change. In Chicago blues, the electric bass often performs a walking bassline made up of scales and arpeggios. In blues rock bands, the bassist often plays blues scale-based riffs and chugging boogie-style lines. In metal, the bass guitar may perform complex riffs along with the rhythm guitarist or play a low, rumbling pedal point to anchor the group's sound.

Yet another form is the portable digital piano which is what appear to be combining the capabilities of stage pianos, but with additional features similar to a conventional digital keyboard. These digital pianos are mostly designed for various purposes such as home, studio, classroom, stage or personal use. It is similar in form to a stage piano, but much lighter in weight, and having a more compact size. Unlike stage pianos, portable digital pianos were commonly equipped with built-in amplification and loudspeakers, usually has lower cost than other types, and its sound quality were often comparable or similar to that of a regular digital keyboards due to a simpler sound synthesis system, though some models, still utilize a similar sound engine as the more advanced model lineups of the same manufacturer.